ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSITION OF ASSETS (Narrative) (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Sep. 01, 2017 USD ($) station market	May 31, 2017 USD ($) station market $ / shares shares	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) station market	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) station market	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of television stations owned | station					192		192
Number of markets | market					89		89
Acquisition related costs									$ 200
Net revenues					$ 33,900	$ 27,400	$ 103,200	$ 62,500
Operating income (loss)					(3,000)	1,300	8,100	(9,600)
Gains of sale of broadcast assets					34	$ 3,311	53,531	$ 5,982
Bonten
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Aggregate purchase price	$ 240,000
Number of television stations owned | station	14
Number of markets | market	8
Number of stations to which sales services were provided | station	4
Finite-lived intangible assets acquired	$ 158,000
Goodwill, expected to be deductible for tax purposes	5,600
Acquisition related costs					300		800
Net revenues					7,600		7,600
Operating income (loss)					$ 900		$ 900
Working capital adjustment	1,300
Bonten | Network Affiliations
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets acquired	49,500
Bonten | Other Intangible Assets
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets acquired	$ 108,500
Bonten | Network Affiliations and Other Intangible Assets
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired finite-lived intangible assets, weighted average useful life	14 years
Other Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business combination purchase price			$ 27,000
Working capital adjustment									2,800
Tennis Channel
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Aggregate purchase price				$ 350,000
Cash acquired in an acquisition				4,100
Tennis Channel | Customer relationships
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets acquired				$ 272,700
Acquired finite-lived intangible assets, weighted average useful life				15 years
Television Station Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business combination purchase price									72,000
Working capital adjustment									100
Tribune Media Company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of television stations owned | station		42
Number of markets | market		33
Business combination purchase price		$ 3,900,000
Share price of acquisition | $ / shares		$ 43.50
Assumption of debt from acquisition		$ 2,700,000
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations | Disposals in 2016
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Carrying value of broadcast assets exchanged									23,800
Gains of sale of broadcast assets									$ 4,400
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations | Alarm Funding Associates
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Sale price of assets sold			200,000
Working capital and transaction costs			5,000
Gain on sale of consolidated non-media business			53,000
Gain on sale attributable to non-controlling interest			$ 12,300
FOX | Tribune Media Company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of television stations owned | station		14
CW | Tribune Media Company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of television stations owned | station		12
CBS | Tribune Media Company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of television stations owned | station		6
ABC | Tribune Media Company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of television stations owned | station		3
NBC | Tribune Media Company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of television stations owned | station		2
MyNetworkTV | Tribune Media Company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of television stations owned | station		3
Independent Station | Tribune Media Company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of television stations owned | station		2
Tribune Media Company, Stockholders | Tribune Media Company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash stockholders will receive (in dollars per share) | $ / shares		$ 35.00
Tribune Media Company, Stockholders | Class A Common Stock | Tribune Media Company
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of shares to be received for a share of acquired stock (in shares) | shares		0.23